Dear Phil: Second Edition
by Mickee A. Renn
Summary: Seven years after returning to the future, Phil receives a collection of Keely's journals from one of her decendents. While the journals convey a happily ever after, Phil can't help but wonder if everything was not as it seemed. Based on a earlier fanfic.
1. The Journals

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters.

*Thanks for telling me like it is, guys. Hope I get it right this time! :)

Bright rays of light beamed over the magical world of the twenty second century. A lone figure stopped in his tracks on the deserted ground and took a deep breath, bathing in the warmth of the sun of a new day, noting how the sun was one of the few real things left in the world. He sighed and closed his eyes in attempt to recollect the greener world of his adolescence, but was interrupted by a car flying too close to the ground. He yelped and jumped out the way just in time.

"Get back in the air, you moron!" The driver yelled and then merged back into a line of traffic high above.

Philip Diffy sighed once again and shook his head. He glanced then at the antique device ticking on his wrist and realized that if he didn't get a move on it, he'd be seriously late for work. A distance that took the average man ten minutes to cover on foot was nearly doubled in a world no longer suited for leisurely walking, after all.

_And to think I ever missed the modern "conveniences" of this world… _Phil thought wistfully, as he proceeded across the flat, concrete land.

When Phil reached the parking lot of his workplace, he was nearly run over a second time. He scolded the young man who emerged from the driver's side, reminding him of the obvious fact that parking lots were, in fact, walking zones. Upon meeting Phil's eyes, the young man jerked a photo—incredibly uncommon in its tangible form—from his pocket.

Phil didn't notice the young man watching him, nor did he even see the photo, as he entered one of four sets of glass doors and stepped into one of many machines resembling a metal detector.

A mechanical voice boomed over a loud speaker, "_Philip Diffy recognized. Presence granted._"

Meanwhile, outside the young man realized he was missing his chance, and started sprinting toward the doors, after grabbing a rather sizeable box from his back seat.

Phil walked forward a few more steps, when he suddenly heard a loud cry. The computer stated a moment later, "_Individual not recognized. Presence not granted._"

Phil turned to see the young man standing behind a transparent, light blue colored shield that had appeared in the recognizer machine. The kid had received an electrical shock when he tried to walk through.

Phil was beginning to lose his patience with this kid and found it next to impossible to politely explain to him that this was an employee only zone.

As Phil started to walk away, the kid pleaded, "Please, if I could just have a moment of your time!"

"Sir, I'm not with client services. If you just go down that hallway, you'll find someone who can assist you." Phil replied, pointing in the direction he was indicating.

"But I need to talk to you about Keely Teslow!" The kid exclaimed.

Phil was taken aback. "How do you know that name?" He questioned.

"Well," The young man said slowly, "I'm her great, great, great…something like that…grandson."

Phil ran over immediately to join the man on the other side of the recognizer, asking, "What? What are you here for?"

The kid wordlessly set the box he'd been holding on the floor and opened it to reveal a bunch of beat up, old journals (thanks to Poison Princess). He handed one to Phil, who eyed it quizzically.

"Keely Teslow left these journals in her son's care. She told him to tell one of his children to pass them on to one of their children, and on to their children, and so on, with this message: 'Give this to Phil Diffy from the year 2121." The young man explained.

Phil was speechless.

"By the way, you are one hard guy to track down," The kid continued. "I mean, first there was that whole incidence of you and your family disappearing…and now you're some bigwig in some tech company. I tell you, I was getting tired of playing missing persons cop."

"Believe me," Phil finally spoke. "I appreciate it."  
"And, you know, I've gotta ask you…did you love her?" The man asked, and then sputtered, "Not that I care, it's just kind of a big thing in my family."

Phil stared down at the journal as he contemplated the answer. He didn't answer for several minutes, but sure enough his response was, "Yes, I did."

"You know, Mom used to tell me all kinds of stories about you two. Like, the time you made an ice cream machine for a science fair and you used milk for the fuel, but that had yet to be discovered." The kid said.

"It was actually a pudding dispenser, a voice activated pudding dispenser…" Phil laughed nostalgically at the old memory.

"Voice activated? Yeah, I think I remember studying that old technology back in high school." The young man murmured.

"Listen, I have to get to work. It was nice meeting you." Phil said.

"It was nice meeting you too finally." The young man replied, then after a moment of awkward silence, muttered a goodbye and left.

Phil flipped through the journal and saw that every page was filled with a letter addressed to him. He opened it up to the first page…

Dear Phil,

It's only been a few hours since you left, but I miss you already. I can't really talk to my mom about how I feel since she doesn't know about future stuff. So, I suppose I should write it down and hope that you will one day read it. You are the best friend I've ever had. You make me laugh, you make me smile, and you showed me things I never even imagined were possible. I have one request for you, Phil, that you come back and visit me someday and maybe even take me back to the future with you.

Love, Keely

…then, after digging through the box, found the very last journal and read the very last page.

Dear Mr. Diffy,

Mother passed away early this morning. She was just shy of turning ninety, so she lived a long life. As she lay there, she kept muttering stuff about you…about how you came from the future. I can't say I believed her, to be honest, but I've never known my mom to be a liar. Oh, and she kept repeating this one thing in particular. "I forgive you, Phil. It's alright that you never came back."

Phil's gaze slowly lifted from the journal onto the outside world. The young man was still standing on the sidewalk, and Phil suddenly realized he couldn't let him go with only a measly, "Thank you." Still, he was supposed to have been at his desk five minutes before according to his wristwatch, and he knew he'd be toast should the boss catch him. As Phil was standing there contemplating, however, the kid was getting away.

_Aw, _Phil thought with a sigh, _What's my job compared to my one link in the universe to the person that is my universe? _

And so, without a further, thought, Phil found himself racing out the door and through the lot, managing to flag the kid down just as his car started to return to the skies. Rather than making a full landing, though, the man just allowed the car to hover about a inch off the ground as he leaned out the window and said, "What's up, Dude?"

_What's up, Dude? Haven't heard that one in a while..._

"I won't keep you long. I have to get to work anyway," Phil began. "You see, I'd…well, I'd love to exchange some more stories about Keely sometime with you, if you have the time."

"Sure, Dude," The kid nodded. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and held it out to Phil. Phil took out his own phone and laid its back against the back of the kid's. The phones made a zapping noise after a few moments, and then Phil's announced, _"Number received from Theodore S. Walters, contacts successfully updated." _  
"I'm free all weekend, so go ahead and give me a ring," The kid stated.

_Give me a ring? Haven't heard that one lately either… _Still, Phil gave a little grin, finding it refreshing to finally meet someone who actually used a phone for calling people. Not to mention somebody who knew some ancient lingo.

"I will," Phil replied, "Catch you later, man."

"Huh?" The kid blinked.

G_uess it was still too much to ask for, _Phil thought with a deep sigh.

"_See _you later," Phil clarified.

"Oh, right," the kid nodded. "See you…, man."

The kid lifted his car back up to the sky and disappeared faster than Phil could blink.

Diffy!" A gruff voice came from behind him. Phil turned around to see his boss standing in the doorway. His boss barked then, "You're late!"

"Not technically, I just stopped to talk to a client." Phil explained as he shuffled back over to the doors.

"It's not your job to speak to clients. Now, get to work!" His boss snapped.

"Yes, sir," Phil nodded and followed the boss inside, wanting to be anywhere but there.


	2. The M Word

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

It was all Phil could do to stay sane those first few years back "home". As a result, he became buried in all he did in order to escape his longing to return to his one true love. Not only that, he also planned to one day buy a time machine of his own. As he excelled in college and graduate school, though, his priorities slowly shifted onto building his career. He became well to do over night, but he slowly lost sight of what really mattered. That was, of course, until Theodore came along and suddenly his career was the last thing on his mind. Suddenly, he was skipping lunch not to work on that big company project, but to spend an hour carefully reading through all Keely had written. Not only was his skipping lunch, though, he was also skipping out on said company project. He was set to meet up with Theodore bright and early Saturday morning, but as the week was still young, all he had were the journals.

Dear Phil,

I got together with Tia today. It was just like old times, spending the day at the salon, laughing and catching up. She talked me into getting this super short cut, though, and I'm totally stressing cause I think it looks awful. Maybe I'll buy a new hat… Anyways, it got me to thinking about how she first moved away, and how you were right there beside me all the way. It was like that day all reversed, though, with Tia being the one here and you being the one that had to move. Of course, she wasn't completely miserable. That really meant a lot to me when you did that, though. I really miss, you know. Well, I should probably stop before you wind up having to deal with crusty pages.

Love, Keely

Dear Phil,

Ugh! Huge math test this Friday and you know me. I'm just sitting here right now, trying to remember what these little pointy shapes on these pages are even called. They kind of remind me of slides and tents and are making me want to go to the park, the circus, and camping all at once. Any excuse to get out of studying, I guess. It just so hard, though, especially since I can't stop laughing about that time you got me into the one really, really hard math class. You know, the super hard one. I can't even write straight. Sorry it's so messy.

Love, Keely

Dear Phil,

Well, it's senior prom night and I'm sitting at home in my pajamas and pigtails. A couple of guys asked me to go with them, but I just felt really bad about even thinking of saying yes. So, my date is officially a gallon of chocolate ice cream and an old movie that's showing on TV. It's really kind of boring, but right now they're showing this scene where they're squishing tomatoes with their feet. Remember we did that when we first met? That's when I found out that you only have eight toes, huh? That was really kind of gross when your fake toe fell off. Well, I think that's worth more than a few hours of dancing around with some guy I barely know.

Love, Keely

Dear Phil,

I'm all dressed up in my black robe and cap, and the ceremony is only an hour away. I had myself pretty convinced I wasn't going to make it these past few weeks, but I really managed to pull it all together at the last minute. Mom was freaking out for a while there and too and I guess that's what really got me through this. That and I couldn't bear the thought of you thinking I was a failure. How totally lame does that even sound? I guess it's cause I've never thought I was good enough for you, my genius future boy. Okay, that's it; I'm officially tearing this page out.

Love, Keely

The journals continued on for pages and pages, detailing Keely's life as she struggled with college, a new boyfriend here and there, and trying to decide between becoming a performer or a news reporter. She spent a few semesters going through the fine arts program at first and then switched to television journalism for another two, back to fine arts for the summer session, and then finally settled on journalism her junior year. She had, of course, been fulfilling journalism requirements all the while, and thus was able to graduate within a decent time frame. She was fortune enough to be hired by Pickford's own local broadcasting station just shy of turning twenty-four. This is the point in which Keely started to mention a certain fellow named Ted, who Phil couldn't help but notice right from the get-go.

Dear Phil,

Today was the big day, my first day at the studio, and I made a complete fool of myself! I couldn't remember anything I was supposed to say and I couldn't read any of my notes. I kept hoping and hoping and hoping that I'd wake up from the nightmare, but thing after thing kept going wrong. The boss wasn't too thrilled with me. There was this one guy, Ted, though—the cameraman—and we talked for like three hours this afternoon. He was trying to convince me that I was terrific, but I knew he was just being nice. Anyways, he has tickets to this concert for my favorite band and we're going together. I have to admit, I haven't been this excited since our first date.

Love, Keely

Phil couldn't help but feel like this was more than just a fling for her. He suddenly had the uncontrollable desire to learn more about this Ted and her relationship with him. He flipped through several pages, scanning them as he went long, when he came across the very thing he'd been dreading—the M word.

Dear Phil,

Well, I got married today. The wedding was beautiful and my groom, he's amazing. I'm very happy, so please, whatever you do, don't interfere. I'd still like to see you again someday, as an old and very dear friend. Please, don't detest me for this. You'll always be special to me, I mean, you were my first love after all. So go on then and find a nice girl. I'd love to meet to her.

Love, Keely

She had taped a wedding photo to the bottom of the page. All Phil could think about was how beautiful she looked and how hurt he was.

_Of course she got married…how could I have expected anything else? _

Phil lay in bed that Friday night, now understanding completely why he had never gone to see her again.


	3. A Fake Fairytale?

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

**A/N**: In response to SlickNickShady's question, this is not a sequel, it is a repost. I am, however, planning a sequel, which you can find a bit more information for on my home page. Of course, I'm changing to plot some to set up for the sequel, as you will notice in this next chapter. I hope you like it.

After her marriage, Keely had begun to write less and less. In fact, there was about a six month period where she didn't write a thing, no doubt having settled down into her life as newlywed. The next entry took place Christmas Day, _their _first Christmas together.

Dear Phil,

Had to celebrate Christmas a few days early with Mom, because Ted surprised me with tickets Hawaii. I wasn't actually able to get off work until the holiday season, so we decided to just skip the honeymoon. Apparently he's been saving up, since long before the wedding, though. It's been such an amazing week. I helped Mom decorate her tree with all the old decorations. She didn't have time to cook on such short notice, so we had turkey sandwiches for dinner, with the promise that we'd have a real turkey for New Years. Anyways, right now I'm just sitting on the beach sipping lemonade of all things and feeling a bit subconscious around all the locals who still have their summer tan. Well, I guess I better go. Ted's been nagging me for a while now to go check out some famous seafood restaurant for a while now.

Love, Keely

From there on, she wrote little tidbits of New Years and all the other major holidays leading up to the Fourth of July and their first anniversary late in the summer. The whole eight months or so barely even filled a couple of pages. Still, Phil found she still found time to write Ted's name fifty-six times. Then, when Christmas time came around again, Phil came across the word he had dreaded even more than the M word, which was the B word.

Dear Phil,

So, I've been feeling all sick and tired lately, so I went to the doctor and it's for sure—I'm going to have a baby! I'm going to be a mommy! We decided today that we're going to put a down payment on a house and Ted hasn't stopped talking about how he wants to decorate the nursery since. And I've already nick named the baby Fuzzy Bear. Remember that, Secret Agent Fuzzy Bear? It's getting late, though, and I should get to bed. Goodnight, My Fuzzy Bears.

Love, Keely

Phil glanced up at his own clock, realizing it was already past one. He had promised to meet Theodore at eight o'clock the next morning. Before closing the book, he whispered, "Good night, White Panther," and then set it on the nightstand.

* * *

When Phil walked into the coffee shop down the street from Theodore's college, he found him sitting at one of the high tables and pounding on his laptop's keyboard. Phil walked over to him and looking him, Theodore said, "Hey, man, I've got like two sentences left on this paper." He looked back down at after thirty more seconds, he slammed the computer shut, leaned on it, and muttered, "…safe!"

As Phil sat down, he asked, "Hey, I didn't realize people still used laptops."

"They don't," Theodore replied as he sat back up. "Most people don't even know what they are."

"Yeah, no kidding," Phil laughed.

"Still, I kind of like to do things the old-fashioned way," Theodore said. "I guess it's the Grandma Keely in me."

"I'd say so," Phil nodded, glancing over at the hologram Christmas tree the coffee shop had in one of its corners. "We had a real tree one year and I tried to decorate with the Wizard, but she insisted on hanging the ornaments up by hand. Sad no one even uses the Wizard any more for that sort of thing."

"I know, right?" Theodore said. "The other day I bought a real tree for my apartment and was trying to convince my girlfriend to decorate it with me and she said, 'Sorry, I have to go and print my thousand page essay.' Can you believe that?"

Phil grinned. Printers and paper had lost their use nearly seventy years before. World Wide technology, like uploading papers onto a class Giggle Page, was finally adopted by everyone. Then again, things like flyers had yet to disappear, like the one still floating around advertising the water slide time machine salesman guy.

"So, then," Phil murmured. "It sounds to me like you know a lot about me and Keely in high school, but I hardly know anything about Keely after she got out of college. Most of those journals are filled with her college days. I'm already to the last couple and after flipping through what I haven't read, it seems she got tired of writing or something."

"Well, let see, she got a job at the Pickford news station right out of college. She stayed there for a couple years, and then she got promoted to a slightly larger station a few towns away. She just proceeded to climb the ladder and made it to New York City when she turned twenty-eight."

Phil suddenly thought of the news story Keely had done on some cat lady he'd showed her on the Giggle once. More importantly, he recalled Keely's voice ringing perfectly in his ears, _"In the future, I'm wearing a wedding ring." _And he recalled his own notions of thinking he'd be the one to give it to her.

_How silly was I? _He thought as Theodore finished his last statement.

"Anyways, long story short, she spent the next sixty years as a newsperson and then eventually retired back in Pickford," Theodore explained.

Phil glanced gloomily out the window then and sighed, "Sounds like she had the perfect life then."

Theodore voice suddenly got lower and he replied, "Oh, I don't know about that…"

Phil looked up at his curiously just Theodore's phone beeped. He waited patiently for him to check it, when suddenly Theodore white as sheep and said, "Sorry, man, I have to get to class."

As he scampered of the café Phil yelled, "Hey, I thought you said you had the morning off!" Phil watched him as he ran to the other side of the street, where an old man standing at the bus stop seemed to waiting for him. He could have sworn the man shot him a dirty look before he slapped the back of Theodore's head.

Phil stood and murmured, "What was that?"


	4. The Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

Phil stood beside a tree in Keely's yard, gripping it nervously. He had made this far, despite what Keely's wishes had been, because he just couldn't help wondering who that old man had been and if that scene outside the coffee house had had anything to do without him. He had made it that far, but the hardest step would be to actually come face to face with his beloved for the first time in nearly ten years. From her journal he had discovered that this was the night that she was preparing for her first day at the Pickford newstation. She was incredibly nervous and had practically begged Phil to come and visit her. Of course Phil's real motives had more to do with figuring out just who this Ted fellow was that had taken _his _Keely away from him rather than helping her to calm her nerves, but he figured it was as good as excuse as any to show up to the newstation the next day—the fateful day in which she was to meet her future husband.

Her mother's car was parked in the driveway, making Phil decide that he was going to climb the tree and knock on Keely's window to avoid an encounter with the overexcitable, fun-loving lady. The light was on in her room, so he was pretty sure that she was still up. It was, however, past ten and she was probably having to get up early the next day, so he had a feeling she wasn't going to stay up much longer. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself up onto the first branch of the tree, and then the next, and the next, until his finally met with the glass of Keely's window. Inside, he saw her sitting on the edge of her bed, writing in her journal, when upon hearing the knocking she immeadiatly looked up and grin. She practically flew to the window to let Phil inside and then practically made him fall out of the tree when she went to hug him without warning.

"Sorry, Phil," she murmured sheepisly after Phil managed catch himself and then slipped inside. Grinning through his heavy panting, he replied that he probably would have done the same. Keely just laughed.

As Phil looked around the room, he saw piles and piles of popstar clothes strewn about her dress, bed, and just about every other surface in the room. Keely said, "I couldn't decide what to wear tomorrow. Somehow I get the feeling my boss won't like me showing up like a freshman girl on her first day of highschool."

"I don't know, he might get a kick out of this," Phil chuckled as he picked up a bright pink, that had a star made with even brighter beads.

"Yeah, maybe a kick that will send my flying straight out the front door," Keely grunted as she ripped the top away from Phil. "I know I should buy more profession clothes, it just that I can't afford any without selling all my old clothes. And I can't do that, not with all the memories that are attached to them. Like there's the red dress I was wearing when we danced in front of your house and there's the outfit I was wearing when we didn't have to pretend to be your parents to fool the vice principal."

"And," Phil put in, "You're wearing the very same outfit you were wearing the day I left."

"Actually," Keely sighed, "Some clothes I am just better off burning." Then, glancing at the journal, she said, "So, I take it you've already read the journals."

"Most of them," Phil nodded.

"It's not fair, Phil," Keely suddenly stated.

"What's that?" Phil wondered.

"That you know all about me and I know nothing about you!" She declared.

"Right, well, I don't really think there's much to tell. I went to school for a few years, got my degree, and I since then I've been working miserably behind a desk as, well…something like an account slash computer programmer slash scientist." Phil explained. "Well, miserable on the days I didn't have anything to do expect dream about you."

"Me?" Keely seemed surprised. "You mean you don't have a girlfriend."

"Well, I guess I just felt guilty even thinking about anyone else," Phil replied, "Especially considering I promised that I'd wait for you."

"Right, I remember that!" She declared. "And you tried to fight it. You said I was going to be really, really old!"

He shrugged. "Well, I did wait for you. Isn't that all that matters?"

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, saying, "Yeah…I guess it is…thanks for coming back."

She pulled away. "So since you obviously got my message, tell me what great advice you have for me." 

"Don't sweat it. You're going to rock!" Phil declared. Keely smiled.

They talked for a few hours more, until Phil announced it was getting late and that it was probably time for him to go. Before he left, she invited him to the studio to watch her, and he promised to be there. He'd planning on being there anyways.

"Bye," She whispered as he climbed back down the tree, but he didn't quite hear her.


	5. Keely's First Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

After leaving Keely's house, Phil checked into a hotel that was just down the street. He wasn't able to sleep a wink, though, knowing that what was supposed to be biggest day of Keely's life was only hours away. At around 5:30, he succumbed to his restless subconscious and made the decision to walk over to the studio, even though Keely had told him that he didn't need to be there until about quarter to eight. The studio was naturally only a few blocks away and so it wasn't even 5:40 by the time he arrived. He had no trouble getting past the security gate, as Keely had given him her guest pass for the day.

When he walked through the main doors of the building, he found all members of the crew bustling about trying to prepare for the Early Risers Show at 6:00. Although he wasn't sure that he should be wandering about unsupervised, he found that it was pretty easy to do considering how preoccupied everyone was. After wandering around a hallway or two and then backtracking, he finally found the broadcast room, in which he found the Early Riser anchor duo already sitting at their desks while a young man, who looked distinctly like Theodore, was setting up the camera about ten feet away from the anchors' desk. A large clock on the wall across from the anchors indicated that it was 5:55. Along that same wall was a row of chairs in which sat four important looking people, along with a fifth chair that sat empty at the end of the row closest to Phil. He looked over his shoulder for a minute to check if anyone might be coming in behind him, but when he determined there was not, he helped himself to the empty chair.

It wasn't long before the camera man started the countdown and then declared action. A moment later he turned around to find someone was sitting his chair. He settled for standing against the wall for the time being, as he couldn't question this someone until the broadcasting had ended. About ten minutes into the program, the anchors announced a commercial break and the cameraman promptly took them off the air. Now that he had a few minutes, he approached Phil and asked if there was something that he could do for him.

"I'm just waiting at the news at 8:00 with Keely Teslow," Phil stated, trying to pretend that he honestly had no clue he shouldn't have been there just then.

"I take you're Phil Diffy," The cameraman spoke and extended his hand, and explained, "Theodore Walters…call me Ted."

"Yeah…nice to meet you," Phil replied halfheartedly and extended his own hand as well.

"Yeah, like wise," Ted seemed to be a little more enthused about their meeting, however, he was forced to continue with, "Hey, man I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you can't just wander around here by yourself. I mean, it's cool if you want to watch Keely's show and she invited you and all, but Keely's not even here yet, so…"

"Oh, she's not?" Phil faked a nervous laugh. "I just figured she was getting coffee or…something." Honestly had hadn't been sure if Keely had been there or not before he left the hotel, but it had become pretty obvious to him before too long. And after he'd managed to run into Ted, he hoped for a chance to 'chat' with him. Of course, now that he had his chance, he couldn't think of anything to say. There wasn't much time to say anything anyways, as Ted had to put the studio back on the air after only a few minutes worth of commercials. After which he returned to his spot against the wall, apparently having decided to let Phil's presence slide.

_I wonder why he knows who I am. Does Keely talk about me often? _Phil thought to himself as he half listened to the anchors discuss the newest craze in home health care books. Apparently the nation was all wound up about a newly discovered herb that, given his profession, he knew would last through twenty-first century, but would completely disappear by the year 2100.

Keely finally arrived just short after seven o'clock. She was surprised to learn that Phil had arrived so early, but wasn't in any mood to question his motives. All she could think about was she had to put on a real news broadcast in roughly forty-five minutes for first time of her life. All the years of mock broadcastings in school and even her news show in high school were doing little to ease her nerves as she shuffled through her note cards like a freshman before finals.

Finally, the dreaded moment came. Keely took a seat behind the broadcaster's table. Ted asked her then if she was ready to go and she replied with a weak, 'yes.' Ted started the countdown and declared, "Action!"

Keely sat silent and bugged eyed for a few seconds, then looking down on at her papers, sputtered, "Ga…good morning, everybody. My name is…uh, Ka…Keely and I will be taking over the news at this time. My name's Keely Teslow."

_Good old Keely…always making sure the world knows her name, whether she's thinking straight or not. _Phil thought with a slight grin, recalling how her name was said several times throughout the introduction of her news show in high school.

"Last evening, a man robbed a convince store…no, no! I mean it was a jewelry store. Wait…a clothes store, in the mall. He held a gun to the cashier's head and…no; he held a knife to throat of another customer…and he threatened to call the cops if he didn't get out? No, it was the cashier who threatened to call the cops! Well, anyways…no one was hurt and a customer who was in the dressing room before and during the holdup, managed to secretly call the police on her cell phone." Keely was beginning to wish she had read her notes a few more times through. She was reminiscing of times in high school like this; her test so full of scribble marks there was no room to write the answers anymore.

"Also, Wednesday night, a woman went into labor just as a plane landed back at the airport. There was a doctor on board, who wound up delivering the baby. More on this from um, um, um, Dr. Green!" She held her breath, waiting for the signal that they were off air. When it came, she blew short and loud, and threw her face down on the table. "I just made a complete idiot of myself!" She cried.

"Now, Miss Teslow, I think you did just fine. I would never be able to do what you're doing, half as well even!" Ted tried to cheer her up. A clump of hair fell from the top of her head to her left side as her head shifted, but she said nothing.

"Keely," Phil spoke. Keely raised her head slightly so she could see him. "Do you remember when you entered that song contest, and you were so nervous that I had to use..." Phil stopped what he was saying, and then continued with, "I had to sit somewhere that you could see me, so you wouldn't freeze, you were so comfortable singing to me."

"Why are you bringing this up? I already feel dumb enough!" Keely snapped.

"Well, don't remember what happened? You wound up rocking the house that night!" Phil exclaimed. Keely thought back, and smiled.

"I did, didn't I?" She cooed.

"I not quite sure how you managed to pull yourself through…but you did! Just remember what got you through that night, and maybe it will help you get through today." Phil advised.

Keely sat up and nodded, a little unsure. She took a deep breath, and Ted said, "Okay, get ready: five…four…three…two…one…action!"

"Thank you, Dr. Green. Now, the weather report," Keely spoke smoothly, and the next intermission began.

Phil smiled. _Now that's the Keely I know. _


	6. Living in the Moment

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters.

Keely signed off and sat beaming until Ted gave the announcement that they were clear. Phil stepped up the anchor table then to congratulate Keely as Ted shut down all the broadcasting equipment. Keely laughed as Phil sung her praises. She was pretty proud about what she'd accomplished, but she was still pretty embarrassed about what had happened during the first segment of the show. It _was _funny, though, so Phil told her she might as well laugh about it. Just then, the studio manager approached the duo.

"Teslow," his tone was sharp and bitter. He looked as though he was about to explode with anger. Suddenly, though, his obdurate visage turned into a full fledge smile and he exclaimed, "A little shaky at first, but I was impressed by the energy you brought into the show later on. Keep up the good work and you may actually find you have a future in this business."

"Thank you, sir," Keely smiled and looked up at Phil. He gave her a thumbs-up. The studio manager left the room then.

Phil started to ask Keely if she wanted to go out for breakfast to celebrate, but a voice snuck up behind him and said, "That was really great, Miss Teslow. You just blew me away!" Phil and Ted exchanged glances. Then, Ted leaned in close to Keely out of the blue and whispered something in her ear. Keely didn't seemed bothered by his actions, so Phil resisted the urge to sock the guy. Keely touched his hand a moment later and shook his head. Phil had a feeling that he'd just asked her out, although he seemed unfazed as he started to step away from the table.

Just as Phil started to ask Keely out, he was distracted by Ted reaching into his pocket and purposefully throwing a couple of pieces of paper on the floor. Keely had been busy cleaning up her notes and had apparently had looked up just in time to notice the papers floating to the floor. "Hey, Ted," she called as she stepped out from behind the anchor table to pick the papers up. When she saw what was written on them—the name of her favorite band—she screamed like a preteen and then promptly clamped her mouth shut.

_Oh, great, _Phil thought, recalling that Ted and Keely had gone to a pop concert for their first date.

"You like them, huh?" Ted grinned as he turned back to Keely and Phil. "I won these on a radio show the other day. I hadn't really planned on using them, so why don't you just go ahead a take them."  
Phil knew Keely was never going to be comfortable accepting something for free that Ted could at least get a couple of hundred bucks for if he sold them. And Phil had feeling Ted knew the exact same thing.

"I-I couldn't," Keely insisted, attempting to shove the tickets back in Ted's hands. He wouldn't take them.

"Look…tell you what," Ted spoke, "I think I have a way to make things even here."

"I don't really have any money," Keely stated.

"Oh, no, that's not what I was thinking at all," Ted shook his head. "I was actually thing we could square thing off by you letting me take you to the concert."

_That would square things off? _Phil thought. _This guy has got some of the cheesiest lines I've ever heard! _

As Keely stared down at the tickets in her hand, wanting so badly to see the show, she figured maybe it wouldn't hurt to take Ted up on his offer after all. So she nodded and said, "Okay…I'll go with you."

"Cool," he chuckled. "I'll pick you up at 8:00 on Friday then." As he finally made his way toward the door, Phil found that he never so happy to see someone leave a room.

"Wait, wait, wait," Phil muttered as soon as Ted was gone. "One minute, you're turning the guy down, but the next you accept just because he's got some tickets to some concert?"

"What are you talking about? I never turned him down for anything." Keely insisted.

"Then what did he say to you when he was whispering in your ear?" Phil asked.

"He was trying to reassure me that I did a good job," she stated, her own tone growing more irritated by the second.

"Then why did he have to say it your ear?" Phil demanded.

"I don't know," Keely hissed. "Maybe he just doesn't like it when other people eavesdrop on his conversations and stick their nose into his business."

"Why are you going out with him anyways?" Phil questioned. "What about last night?"

"Last night?" Keely raised an eyebrow. "All we did last night was talk…"

"Yeah, but…I thought we were starting over again," Phil started to blush a little.

"Phil, you disappeared on me once," Keely sighed. "I'm not going to let you do that to me again."

She told him that she still had a few things to take care of, but that she would come see him at his hotel at lunch time. And she asked him to please not aimlessly roam the news studio during that time. Not wanting to upset her further, Phil complied.

_That's it…she just doesn't want me I suppose. Maybe I should just head home now…I don't want to leave, though. And she said she'd come by later. What would she think if I wasn't there? She's already feeling betrayed enough, I think. _Phil's thought's wandered as he made his way back to the hotel. It'd been pretty dark on his way over to the studio and it was still dark, despite the late hour. Phil expected that it was going to rain. _No matter how hard I fight for her or how hard I try to explain to her that she's supposed to be with me, in the end, the only one that can make that decision for her _is _her. _

When he got back to the hotel, he turned to the spot in the journals that recounted the concert, thinking he should take a shot at actually understanding Keely's feeling. He flipped through page after page for almost fifteen minutes looking for the entry. And as he carefully analyzed the section it was supposed to be in, he soon discovered that it was gone. He skimmed through a few later entries, finding the only thing had really been alter was how Keely referred to Ted. That is, she no longer acted as though Ted was a stranger to Phil, but relayed that Ted was someone Phil actually knew.

Phil lay down and decided to take a little cap nap before Keely showed up to go to lunch with him. A few hours later, he was awakened by a loud rapping out of door. He stirred and then burst off the bed and scampered to the door to let her in.

"Sorry, I was sleeping," he yawned and rubbed his still tired eyes. She asked if she should leave him alone to let him sleep some more and he insisted that wasn't necessary.

"Look, Phil, I'm sorry I blew up at you earlier," she didn't even bother to beat around the bush. Phil insisted that it was his fault. She simply shrugged her shoulders. "In any case, I gave the tickets back to Ted. I just didn't feel right having them."

Phil had figured as much. "What'd Ted say?"

"He said maybe some other time then…and I said sure," Keely replied.

"Okay, that's cool," Phil said dishearteningly.

"Phil," Keely spoke his name and then starting straight into his eyes, she asked, "Do mind telling me what exactly is going on here?"

"I don't know what you mean," Phil lied. Keely frowned and Phil sighed, "I mean, I can't tell you."

"Why can't you?" she wondered.

"Because you once said that you want your future to be a surprise," Phil stated.

"I did say that," Keely acknowledge, "but I also recall something you said. You said that you future should be whatever you want it to be."

"Okay," Phil replied, not sure why Keely was even making such a comment. Still, he queried, "And just what do you want your future to be?"

"I guess, I want my future to be burgers and fries at the same old place," she said. He stomach growled just then. Phil laughed and said that they had better get a move on it, then.

Smiling and laughing as they walked down the streets to that same old place, Phil thought about how there was the past and the future. And he thought about how easy it was for him to touch the two, but in doing so, he often found himself unable to live in the present. And so he thought it best to live out that one hour not worrying about Ted, but just enjoying the time he would be spending with Keely.

_You already left me behind once, Phil. I'm not going to let you do it again…_


	7. Even if You Hate ME

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

Keely was chatting about her big production as she and Phil entered the diner and slipped into a booth right next to the door. Even though it was considered taboo to talk about work on a date, Phil was just happy to be able to be the center of her universe, even if it was going to be only for a moment.

"I'm just going to pick up these folks' check and then I'll be right back to bring you some drinks," the waiter stated as he walked straight past Keely and Phil's booth and made his way down to a booth a few tables down from where they were sitting. Phil kept his eyes on the waiter as he took the check and smiled gratefully when he was told to keep the change. The family crawled out of the booth then and the waiter told them to have a good day.

Keely frowned. While Phil may have been the center of her universe, it seemed that she was not the center of his. "Um, Phil…" she muttered and waved a hand in Phil's face. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah-no," Phil laughed nervously as he was snapped back into reality. "Why would you think that?"

"Because you're looking at the waiter like…like you thought he was dead or something!" Keely exclaimed. "Do you know him somehow?"  
They had to bring their conversation to a halt as the waiter walked past them and then made his way over to the cash registrar. Phil's face was glued to the waiter's face once again as he passed, but he returned his gaze to Keely once the waiter had passed by.

"Well, he looks kind of like someone I know...he has to be at least two or three years younger than the guy I'm thinking of, though," Phil insisted as he picked up a menu and started to look over what drinks they had available.

"It could still be the same guy, though. I mean, he is…from the same place you you're from, right?" Keely chose her words carefully so as not to reveal Phil's little secret to any ease-droppers.

"I guess," Phil considered, watching all the while as the waiter multitasked in putting money into the registrar and playing with his cell phone. "I just don't know why he'd be here of all places."

"You could just ask him," Keely suggested, taking a quick glance over shoulder as well. "Wow…you know what's weird? I think he looks a little bit like Ted. I'd say it was his little brother if I didn't know that Ted was an only child."

Phil's suspicions were confirmed with that one condemning sentence. If Keely thought the waiter looked like Ted, then there was no longer any doubt in his mind that a younger version of Theodore had come to Pickford for a part time job at the local diner. Also, there was no longer a doubt in his mind that that old man he'd seen at the bus stop back in the future really did have some problem with him trying to get back together with Keely.

"So are you going to?" Keely asked as the waiter push in the cash registrar drawer and started his way back over to Phil and Keely.

"Am I going to what?" Phil questioned.

"Ask him what he's doing here?" Keely whispered with the waiter now standing only a few feet behind her. Phil didn't have the chance to respond, but if he could have, he would have said that he didn't need to ask.

The waiter asked, "So, what can I get you to drink?"

"I'll have some lemonade," Keely replied.

"And I'll have a…I'll have an Undertaker," Phil requested.

"Oh, sorry, sir, we don't serve hard liquor," the waiter replied. "Would you care for a beer instead?"

"No," Phil replied, "I'll just have a soda."

"Sure, coming right up," the waiter replied and then made his way toward the kitchen door.

"Phil, are you a drinker?" Keely wondered.

"Nah," Phil replied. "I just wanted to see if he knew what an Undertaker even was."  
"And I take it's not a type of hard liquor?" Keely questioned.

"No, it's just a popular energy drink from back home," Phil replied.

"I see," Keely replied. "So, did you think he did know what it was?"

"Oh, he knew alright," Phil insisted. With the matter already settled in his mind that the waiter was, in fact, Theodore, Phil's only reason for having ordered an Undertaker was to send a loud and clear message to Theodore that he knew a war for Keely's affections was only just beginning.

And so Phil wasn't the least bit surprised when Ted burst through the diner doors and declared, "Wow, what are the odds that I'd run into you two here?" Surely, Theodore had been warning Ted about Phil when he'd been using his phone behind the cash registrar.

_Phil glanced gloomily out the window then and sighed, "Sounds like she had the perfect life then."_

_Theodore voice suddenly got lower and he replied, "Oh, I don't know about that…"_

_I don't know if you're on my side or not, Theodore, _Phil thought, _I don't know if you're trying to help me here or just setting me up for a fall. All I know is trap or no trap, Keely is in danger just by being associated with this man. _

_Well, I got married today. I'm very happy, so please, whatever you do, don't interfere._

_"Phil, you disappeared on me once," Keely sighed. "I'm not going to let you do that to me again."_

_ I won't let myself disappear on you again, either, Keely, _Phil thought. _But I am going to have to interfere. _

_ "Then why did he have to say it your ear?" Phil demanded._

_"I don't know," Keely hissed. "Maybe he just doesn't like it when other people eavesdrop on his conversations and stick their nose into his business."_

_Yes, Keely, I will interfere. Even if it means making you hate me along the way… _


	8. Kidnapped

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

"So, what are you off to now, Phil?" Ted asked as he, Phil, and Keely stepped out of the diner. The reason why he'd asked Phil exclusively was obvious to both Keely and Phil: Ted was hoping to somehow provoke Phil into quickly excusing himself that that Ted could be alone with Keely. While Keely wasn't comfortable with the idea of Ted trying to run Phil off, she didn't much care Phil's smug response.

"I don't know, I've got all day," Phil replied. Then, he grunted, "Why? What's it to you?"

While such a reaction was unusual for Phil, he was already quite agitated with the fact that Ted had spent the last hour and half talking Phil's ear off about what a fantastic anchor Keely was. He hadn't even bothered to take breaths between his brown-nosing, let alone actually bothered to eat his food. And so, Phil was forced to wait another 20 minutes after finishing his own meal to be able to leave. And then Ted had gone and showed off by not only picking up all their tabs, but also by tipping twenty whole dollars. Of course, all of that was just the cherry on top of the fact that Phil was becoming increasingly concerned for Keely's safety. He worried about the old man who'd he'd witnessed hitting the older version of Theodore. He worried even more about the fact that Theodore had told him Keely hadn't exactly lived happily ever after liked she described in the journal.

Phil glanced over his shoulder at Keely, only to receive a scolding frown. Even so, Phil just thought about how amazing she truly was. Clearly Ted thought much the same thing, as he was going to such great lengths to keep her for himself, including the length of ensuring that his younger self and grandson were doing everything they could to keep history from changing.

"I'm sorry, Ted," Keely apologized on Phil's behalf. "It's just…you see, Phil and I kind of have something going on between us, so…"

"Oh, no," Ted murmured, "That wasn't a date that I just intruded on, was it?"

Keely insisted, "No, no…not really anyways."

Ted just nodded. All that needed to say had been said. It seemed as though Phil was just jealous even though he didn't really get that Keely wasn't his girl, despite the fact that something was 'going on' between them. And even though none of it was actually said aloud, Phil was still left branded the fool.

_Well, I'm obviously not winning any points by being hostile toward the guy. I need to remember that the only person I'm really hurting by acting this way is Keely._

"Yeah, Keely's right," Phil admitted with a sigh. "I shouldn't have reacted so harshly."

"Hey, don't worry about it, man," Ted shrugged, then, clearly still playing the same, turned to Keely and said, "Well, what about you? Do you have any other plans?"

"No," Keely replied. "I mean, I have to prepare for tomorrow morning's broadcast, but that they can wait if you've got something else in mind."

"I don't know," Ted shrugged. "I guess I was thinking maybe we could go for ice cream or something."

"Sure," Keely. "Well, Phil, what do you think? Are you up for getting some ice cream?"

"Yeah, sure," Phil agreed. Even though he wanted nothing more in than moment that to take Keely someplace as far away from Ted as he possibly could, he realized he was just going to have to play along if he was going to keep from losing Keely's trust. And so Phil suffered through another two hours of Ted's flirting before the three finally left the ice cream parlor.

Keely glanced at her watch and said, "Oh, no, it's almost four! I'm sorry, guys, but I really need to get home to I can get some work done and still be able to go to bed at a decent hour."

"Sure, that's no problem," Ted spoke, "Do you want me to walk you home?"

Keely shook her head and smiling, said, "I only live a couple of blocks away. I think I can manage. You should go relax for a little while at home so you're ready for work tomorrow too."

"Yes, ma'am," Ted replied with a grin, which just made Keely grin back.

"Oh, and, Phil, you should be sure to come to tomorrow's broadcast too," Keely offered, "Just…don't show up early this time, okay."

"Okay," Phil replied as Keely walked off. He stayed quiet for a minute, waiting for the right opportunity to excuse himself. When he realized that the right opportunity wasn't going to come along, he finally muttered, "Well, see you tomorrow, Ted."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow," Ted replied. Phil had his back to him, as he had already started walking away in the opposite direction. He lifted hand casually to bid one final farewell.

Phil spent the evening anxiously awaiting then next broadcast. He slept for a few hours, got up and paced for a while. He ate dinner at one point and then took a shower around midnight. He tossed and turned all night and by dawn, he was resisting the urge to walk to down to the studio as he had done the day before. No longer able to stay in bed, he opted to get up and go for some coffee. After killing another hour just walking around the town and reflecting on the times he'd spent in that tiny little place, he was realized when the time to go to the studio finally rolled around.

When he arrived and the studio gate, the guard announced, "Sorry, but the morning news had been cancelled."

"What? How do they just cancel the morning news?" Phil wondered.

"Well, it seems that the main anchor is missing," The guard stated.

"Missing?" Phil cried.

"Yeah, not to mention, the usual cameraman never showed up this morning," The guard said. "Of course, when he didn't show up, they just called in a replacement. But when the anchor didn't show up, they called her home and her mother informed us that she never came home last night."

Phil started making a mad towards Keely's house without a second thought. Even though he knew Ted was desperate and dangerous, he naively had allowed himself to never even imagine that Ted would go so far as actually kidnapping her.


	9. Breakdown

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

When he reached Keely's house, he began pressing the doorbell repeating to get Mrs. Teslow's attention. The door immediately flew open, revealing Mrs. Teslow in her robe and runny mascara.

She looked at Phil, unable to replace him at first. But then, she suddenly cried, "Phil? Phil Diffy?"

"Yeah, it's me," Phil confirmed.

"Oh, Keely mentioned you were back in town," Mrs. Teslow forced a weak and pathetic smile. Then she questioned, "You haven't seen her, have you? She never came home last night!"

Mrs. Teslow frowned when Phil shook his head. Now trembling, Mrs. Teslow whispered, "Do you know where she could be?"

Phil didn't respond at first. Then he said, "Could we talk inside? There's something I feel we need to discuss in private."

"Oh, yes, of course," Mrs. Teslow replied and stepped aside to let Phil in.

When she closed the door, Phil said, "Keely could be anywhere. And I mean absolutely anywhere."

"What do you mean?" Mrs. Teslow choked.

"Well," Phil took a deep breath, terrified of what Mrs. Teslow's reaction was going to be. Then he murmured, "Keely's been kidnapped by one of her co-workers."

"What!" Mrs. Teslow shrieked. Then, ripping out her cellphone she declared, "I have to call the police!"

Phil gently pulled the phone out of Mrs. Teslow's hand before she was able to dial the number. When she demanded what he thought he was doing, Phil said, "That's not going to do any good. The police are never going to find her."

"Why not?" Mrs. Teslow cried.

"Because, believe it or not," Phil took another deep breath, "The man who took her…has the ability to time travel…"

Of course it made perfect sense after the fact. There was no way he didn't if he had such a tangible to connection to Theodore.

Mrs. Teslow's eyebrows just rose at Phil's statement.

"I'll prove it to you," Phil said. "Come with me."

Mrs. Teslow silently followed Phil as he stepped out of the house and made his way back to the hotel. They arrived within ten minutes. They walked into the parking lot where Phil had his RV. He opened the door, revealing not a kitchen and other such basic living utilities, but a strange room filled with strange gadgets, flashing lights, and car seats.

"It's a time machine," Phil stated. "And it's the only way we're going to find Keely. If we go into the future, we'll be able to contact the police force that specializes in this type of case."

Mrs. Teslow silently stepped into the time machine. Phil crawled in behind her and practically shoved the key into the ignition after plopping down in the driver's seat. When he turned, it however, the engine did not start up.

Leaning forward in her own chair, Mrs. Teslow questioned, "What? What is it, Phil?"

Phil smacked at the controls and growled, "This is what I get from buying from that waterslide guy!"

Time was running out. And for the first time in his life, Phil found himself unable to actually stop it.

He turned to Mrs. Teslow then and said, "The time machine broke down."

"Well, can't you fix it?" Mrs. Teslow questioned.

"Even if I could," Phil murmured, "It took my dad almost two years to fix this same model."

"Phil, can you slow down please and just explain to me what is going on here," Mrs. Teslow sighed and buried her face in her hand. "One minute I'm worried about my daughter not coming home, hoping maybe she was just out with you all night. Then next minute I hear you mumbling stuff about her being kidnapped by a time traveler. And now I'm suddenly sitting in time machine."

She looked back up at Phil then and questioned, "Just who are you, Phillip Diffy?"

Phil took a deep breath to calm himself. And then he began to explain all about his family had been on vacation when suddenly their time machine broke down in Pickford. They had no way of fixing of it, forcing his parents to settle down there and send him and his sister to school there. He remembered being so miserable and angry at first. His stomach grew sick whenever the memory of his father telling them that he didn't know how long it would take him to fix the time machine. In that moment, as he sat recounting everything to Keely's mom, his heart grew sick just thinking about his father. He suddenly grew silent when his dad came up.

"And then what?" Mrs. Teslow wondered.

"Well, I got used to being here," Phil shrugged. "I just got so used to be here and then one morning, I woke up and they said it was time to go home."

"Home to the future," Mrs. Teslow realized. Phil just nodded.

"So now what?" Mrs. Teslow questioned. "We wait around for two years for you to be able to fix this thing? Who knows what could happen to Keely by then!"

"There's got to be something we can do," Phil insisted and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Mrs. Teslow questioned as Phil started toward the door.

"To get some air so I can think some things through," Phil said and let the door slam behind him. He leaned against the side of the RV then and let a few tears roll down his cheek as he suddenly recalled why he'd gone and forgotten all about Keely Teslow.

It happened not long after his family returned to the future. It was his last year of high school and graduation was growing near. Instead of heading off to college like every other kid his age, though, he had every intention of buying a time machine of his own, no matter what it took, and return to Keely. But then…

Phil and Pim were called into the principal's office in the middle of the school day. The principal told them that they might want to sit down.

_Heart attack? _Pim had shouted. _People don't have heart attacks anymore!_

Pim and Phil took the rest of the year off from school. Since it was late enough in the school year, they had both been allowed to complete all their assignments outside of school. Pim returned to school that fall right on track. Phil received his diploma, but did not attend the ceremony. He was suddenly the man of the house and had to work. But his mother felt otherwise. He had already been accepted into quite a few prestigious colleges. And she didn't want him to through his youth away trying to take care of family that wasn't his responsibility.

_You should go, Phil. _

He couldn't just defy his grieving mother's wishes. And he couldn't just abandon her by taking off to the past. And so, he selected a college a few miles away from home. And he locked his desire to return to Keely deep in his heart.

And somehow it just faded away with time.


	10. Something Unexpected

Disclaimer: I don't own Phil of the Future or any characters

Standing still wasn't keeping Phil from feeling sick, so he started to start walking around a little bit. As he walked down a street adjacent to the hotel parking lot, he suddenly heard the voice he'd been longing to hear for so long.

"Not to worry, Barb. This is not a problem. All we have to do is change this one part, which I just happen to have a spare of." Lloyd explained as he examined the engine of his own time machine. Barb was standing off to the side, looking panicked. Both of them had their back to Phil.

Phil shook his head and rubbed his eyes. When he looked up again, he saw the same sight. His parents standing outside the RV with him and Pim surely waiting anxiously inside. Without thinking, Phil found himself wandering over to where they stood.

"Oh, thank goodness, Lloyd. I was convinced we were really going to be stuck here. I'll go tell the kids the good news!" Barb exclaimed as she turned toward the door. Her heart skipped a beat, for she discovered someone hovering behind her. "Oh, hello there, young man…so nice to meet you. There's nothing to see here. We're just you average red-blooded American family trying to fix our average red-blooded American RV."

"Mom, it's me." Phil spoke.

"Phil?" Barb whispered. Phil nodded slowly.

"Son, just look at you!" Lloyd was grinning from ear to ear. "You're…wearing sweats and smell like you haven't cleaned yourself very recently."

"Uh, yeah, I've kind of been running around like a crazy person for the last few minutes." Phil murmured as he looked down at himself. Then he looked up and gasped, "And now I need to get back to the future, but my time machine's broken down!"

"I'll say," Lloyd agreed. "Not to worry, though, son. I'll have my time machine fixed in a jiffy and you can hitch a ride with us. Then you can have yours towed when you get back home."

Phil bit his lip, "Uh, Dad, I don't know how to tell you this, but it's going to take you a couple of years to fix the time machine."

"Now, son, I know it's hard to believe that your old man could actually be capable of something cool, but I do know a thing or two about fixing stuff." Lloyd boasted.

"No, Dad, it's not that. It's just that I lived it and you guys are going to be stranded here for a while." Phil said.

_Although, oddly enough, this isn't the same day we actually got stranded. _

"No, son, that's impossible. All I have to do is change this one here part and we're off. Trust me." Lloyd replied.

"Dad, if you had the part all along then why did we stay here?" Phil questioned.

Lloyd pondered Phil's question a moment, then said, "Barb, why don't you stay here with the kids while I go and take a look at Phil's machine. I'll try not to take too long."

"Okay," Barb nodded. "We'll be waiting right here."

"Now, where did you park it son?" Lloyd wondered. Phil murmured something about it being only a little ways away distance as he led the way back to the hotel. They arrived just a couple minutes later and Lloyd got right down to business.

"Did you rent from that waterslide guy?" Lloyd questioned as he lifted up the hood.

"Yeah," Phil responded. "It was cheap and easy to get a hold of. And I had someplace I really needed to be."

"Then it's just as I suspected. You see, your mom and couldn't really afford much more than what we've got right now. That's why we went with the waterslide guy. A friend of mine warned me about how that place is notorious for having this one specific faulty part on their machines and advised me to buy a spare just in case. And so…there you have it. All I have to is loosen this one…gotta to jerk on it a little too. Aw, there it's out. Now, I'll just—

"Dad, wait, why are just fixing mine? Why don't we just all ride back together like Mom suggested?" Phil wondered.

"You said it yourself, son. The family's got a few years to live out here and I imagine this is just what made that happen in the first place. Unless, of course, you strongly advise that we all get out of here as fast as we can." Lloyd said.

_ That would certainly make my life a whole lot easier. I mean, if I don't ever meet Keely, then I'll have to get caught up in this mess in the first place. But…somehow, I can't bring myself to do that. Life without Keely…? Come on, Phil, all you have to say is those seven little words: I think we should all go together. Then, you'll never have to deal with the pain of losing Keely to someone else. You won't have to deal with her getting kidnapped or deal with that psychopath Ted…_

"Phil, it's your call. Either I screw this part in right here, right now. Or we go back to the others and we all head back to our rightful times." Lloyd spoke.

"Dad, I think you should stay. Trust me. It'll be worth it." Phil replied.

_I won't abandon you, Keely... I will save you. You deserve to be someone who will treat you right. I don't know what Ted did, or will do, to you, but I promise, I'm not going to that happen. Ever. _

"Alright, then, I'm going to hold you to that. Now, all I have to do is stick this is there, and voila, you're off, son." Lloyd explained.

"Thanks, Dad." Phil said.

"No problem, son. Just be sure to stop in a see your old man once you get home, okay?" Lloyd requested.

Phil hesitated for a moment, the choked out, "Sure, Dad…it's been too long anyways."

"Until then, son," Lloyd murmured, putting the hood down. Lloyd started to walk away then, but Phil stopped him.

"Actually, Dad, there's just one other little thing." Phil said. "We didn't originally come to this year. We actually got stranded in the year 2003."

"I see," Lloyd murmured. "Well, we should have a little bit of juice left. I think we should at least be able to make that far….well, bye now, son. See you soon."

"See you soon," Phil choked. It was all he could do to fight the tears as he watched his Dad walk away from him for the very last time.


End file.
